A Greek Inscription: “Jesus is Present” of the Late Roman Period at Beth Loya by Titus Kennedy Introduction At the site of Khirbet Beth Loya, located in the Judean Hills east of Lachish and west of Hebron, a short but important ancient Greek inscription was carved into a rock wall of one of the underground caves. Although the ancient name of the site is unknown at this point, according to discoveries it was a prominent Christian site in the Byzantine period, and possibly earlier. The Byzantine church there is a single apse basilica that was erected ca. 500 AD, remained in use for over 200 years until it was apparently abandoned, and eventually the area was overtaken by a Muslim cemetery.1 Several elaborate mosaics, including Christian inscriptions, designs, and depictions of biblical scenes cover the church floor.2 The site, however, was also occupied earlier, in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.3

The Inscription During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, many subterranean installations were carved out of the soft rock on the site.4 In one of these subterranean caves near the Byzantine era church, an ancient Greek inscription mentions Jesus. The entrance to the cave is now obscured by foliage, but on the wall opposite the entrance, an inscription carved into the limestone can be plainly seen. The letters are much taller and deeper than is usual, which may indicate that it was meant to be plainly seen from anywhere in the small cave. The short inscription, which is all on one line, begins with a simple cross and reads ΙΕCΟΥC ΟΔΕ (or in miniscule ιεσους οδε).

It may be translated as “Jesus is present,” with a cross preceding it to indicate that the Jesus mentioned is Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. While ΟΔΕ can be translated simply as “here,” in this case the translation of “present” is more exact since the inscription refers to a person. According to the Greek lexicon of Liddell and Scott, in some cases “ὅδε refers more distinctly to what is present … to point out what is present or

1 Patrich, Joseph, and Yoram, Tsafrir, “Beth Loya, Horvat,” in The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land Vol 1, ed. Stern, Ephraim, 213.

2 Ibid., 213; Cf. also Patrich, Joseph, and Yoram, Tsafrir, “The Greek Inscriptions from Khirbet Beit Loya – Addition,” Qadmoniot Vol 19 (1986): 57.

3 Ibid., 211.

4 Ibid., 212; Macalister, R. A. “Reports by R. A. Stewart Macalister,” Palestine Exploration Fund, July 1901, 226-230 before one.”5 Beyond the mere translation of the inscription, numerous questions remain—what is the date, what is the significance, and why is there an apparent spelling error?6

The Date Unfortunately, no content within the inscription denotes a date, other than sometime from the Christian era when Greek was used. Further, the archaeological context of the cave in which the inscription was found had been disturbed in antiquity, so no additional precision can be obtained through that avenue. However, comparative epigraphy, spelling, and the symbol of the cross can narrow the date range. The cross at the beginning of the inscription is noticeably simple, and appears to follow the design of the early Latin or Greek cross. Although a simple, early form cross is not convincing evidence by itself, this type of cross suggests a possible date within the early period of Christianity before more elaborate cross symbols had come into use. For example, the cross underneath the inscription is likely from a later period, since the two are distinctly different crosses and the cross below is much more elaborate.7 The simple, Latin or Greek appearing cross connects directly to the inscription and was written in the same hand and with the same tool which carved deep into the rock, while the elaborate cross is much more refined, artistic, and the inscriber cut at a much more shallow depth. The elaborate cross below, minus the circle or halo, is very similar to the design found in another cave in Israel that was used until the 6th century AD.8 These two crosses look much like the Coptic “floral” cross that may first have come into use during the period of the 4th to 5th centuries AD; or, it is possibly a variant of the early Greek cross.9 The later carving of this more elaborate cross suggests a long tradition of Christian presence at the site, as attested by the Byzantine basilica, and some degree of familiarity with this particular cave by later Christians. Notably, the Chi-Rho cross variant introduced by Constantine in the early 4th century is also not used in this inscription, which may further date the inscription to the prior period.10 Crosses were already prevalent in Christian funerary inscriptions by the 4th century AD, so a time before the 4th century for the use of a cross in a theological inscription is plausible. The earlier, more crude cross, based only on design, would predate all of these aforementioned cross types. All of this data suggests the cross that is part of the “Jesus is present” inscription could be earlier than the 4th century AD. On the famous Alexamenos Graffito a simple cross similar to that preceding ΙΕCΟΥC on the cave inscription appears. The Alexamenos Graffito, from the Palatine Hill in Rome, dates to ca. AD 200, or probably slightly earlier, since the building it was found in association with was originally constructed ca. AD 90, then modified and partly buried ca. AD 200.11 Although the Alexamenos Graffito was inscribed by a pagan mocking Christians, it follows a cross design that likely would have been borrowed from early Christian iconography in order to clearly make the association and the point.

5 Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones and Roderick McKenzie, A Greek-English Lexicon, Rev. and augm. throughout (Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press, 1996) 1197.

6 Those familiar with Koine Greek will notice that Jesus is spelled Ιησους in the New Testament, with an Eta instead of with an Epsilon as in the inscription.

7 There is probably an additional cross above the inscription, similar to the elaborate cross below the inscription, but most of the carving is obscured by wear.

8 Zertal, Adam. Strata: Cave Yields Cross Carvings and Holy Stones, Biblical Archaeology Review 36:01, 2010.

9 Jones, Michael. “The Early Christian Sites at Tell El-Amarna and Sheikh Said,” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 77 (1991): 129-144, 141-43.

10 Eusebius Pamphilius, Life of Constantine, Book I, Chapter XXXI.

11 V. Vaananen, ed., Graffiti Del Palatino I. Paedagogium. Ed. H. Solin and M. Itkonen-Kaila. Helsinki: University Library, 1966, inscription no. 246. In the Lucina Catacomb of Rome there is a funerary inscription in ancient Greek reading ΡΟΥΦΙΝΑ ΙΡΗΝΕ (Roufina, peace), with an equilateral Greek cross inscribed beneath the words. The Lucina catacomb originated in the mid 2nd century AD, and the inscription and cross have been dated to the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD.12 Sukenik even suggests that there is evidence for the cross as a symbol of Christianity as early as the end of the 1st century AD, citing both ossuaries from the Jerusalem area and a clear Latin cross that was attached to a wall of a building at Herculaneum from the end of the 1st century AD.13 All of these simple cross types are very similar to that of the cross preceding “Jesus” on the inscription. To those who may still object to the possibility of pre-4th century AD cross iconography, crosses are known from writings of the Church Fathers to be used as Christian symbols as early as the 2nd century AD, and thus a cross symbol next to an early Christian inscription mentioning Jesus is not only possible but expected. From the late 2nd century AD, Minucius Felix argues that Christians do not worship crosses even though it is a symbol.14 Around AD 200, Clement of Alexandria writes that the shape of the cross is the Lord’s sign.15 Thus, there is no reason to force the use of a cross symbol in association with Jesus Christ and Christianity to the period after the 2nd century AD. It is entirely plausible that the cross preceding the letters of the inscription dates from the late 2nd to early 3rd centuries AD in the early Christian period. Yet, do the letter forms and spelling agree with this date? All of the letter forms in the inscription had come into use on stone inscriptions at least by the 1st century AD, if not the 1st century BC, but variations of these forms continued to exist throughout the monuments for centuries.16 Some of the specific letter forms aid in narrowing the date. The lunate Epsilon and Sigma, for example, are consistent with 2nd century AD Greek inscriptions.17 All of the letter forms with the possible exception of a more simplified Iota (which may be due to the elaborate nature of the funerary monument in contrast to the unprofessional cave inscription) are extremely similar to a funerary slab from 2nd century AD Rome housed in the British Museum.18 The relatively short forks of the Upsilon in both inscriptions may even be indicative of a shared period. Yet, the Iota of the “Jesus is present” inscription matches the simple form found in inscriptions from Judaea of the period.19 The “Jesus is present” inscription’s lunate Sigma and Epsilon are also very similar to the late 2nd century Alexamenos Graffito (the alternative Epsilon forms in the Alexamenos Graffito are likely due to Latin influence), while the Iota and Epsilon also find a match with the “Roufina, peace” inscription of the 2nd to 3rd century AD. An objection might be raised that Rome

12 Finegan, Jack. The Archeology of the New Testament. Princeton: Princeton University , 1969, pg. 251; Loconsole, Michelle. “Il simbolo della croce tra giudeo-cristianesimo e tarda antichità: un elemento della translatio Hierosolymae,” Liber Annuus, Vol. 53 (2003): 217-284.

13 Sukenik, E.L. “The Earliest Records of Christianity,” American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 51, No. 4 (1947): 351-365, 361-365.

14 Minucius Felix, The Octavius, Chapters IX and XXIX.

15 Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, Book VI, Chapter XI.

16 For numerous examples of Greek stone inscriptions from the Roman period primarily in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, cf. B.F. Cook, Greek Inscriptions, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987, 15, 17, 24-30.

17 Ibid., 14.

18 See GR 1805.7-3.211 at the British Museum in Classical Inscriptions (Room 78).

19 Sukenik, E.L. “The Earliest Records of Christianity,” American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 51, No. 4 (1947): 351-365, 358. is far away and regional variations can exist. However, the letter forms also match multiple Greek inscriptions of the southern Levant region from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd centuries AD.20 A characteristic unique to religious texts, the abbreviation of nomina sacra, may shed further light on the possible date of the inscription in question. Inscriptions and texts of the Byzantine period normally do not spell out the name of Jesus. Jesus, when referring to Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, begins to be abbreviated in Christian texts of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, while Christ begins to be abbreviated in the 3rd century.21 In an inscription from an early 3rd century Christian gathering place at Megiddo, perhaps a prayer hall or a church, the “words ‘God Jesus Christ’ on the next-to-last line are abbreviated in the form of a contraction consisting of the first and last letters of the two words. Above the two sacred words is a straight line. While these abbreviations and the line above indicating sacred words was later a common practice, this is their earliest attestation.”22 The “Jesus is present” inscription certainly refers to Jesus Christ, and fully spells out the name of Jesus, indicating that it may have been inscribed before the time that abbreviation of nomina sacra became common in the 3rd century AD. Finally, there is the variant Greek spelling of Jesus in the inscription that may provide additional clues. Although at first glance the spelling difference may appear to be an error of substituting the Greek letter Epsilon for Eta, this same variant spelling for Jesus is found in three inscriptions, apparently all referring to the same person in a funerary context, from the Galilee at Beth Shearim and dated ca. AD 200-400.23 At the very least this indicates that the variant spelling was known and in use ca. AD 200, and that it was connected to the Galilee region. Spelling the name of Jesus with a Galilean variant is logical in light of the inscriber knowing that Jesus of Nazareth lived much of his life in that region, and assuming his name in Greek would best be represented with an Epsilon rather than an Eta. The spelling also allows for a date around the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD, although on spelling grounds alone the inscription could also be later. Since the site was occupied throughout the Early Roman Period, and the massive and elaborate Byzantine Church was constructed ca. AD 500, this primitive inscription plausibly dates to an earlier period in the history of the site—the Late Roman period. Although no single aspect of the inscription warrants a definite date range of the late 2nd century to the early 3rd century AD, the composite evidence of letter forms, the simple cross, no nomina sacra abbreviation, the spelling of Jesus, the Byzantine period being best represented by inscriptions at the basilica, and the early Christian trend of meeting underground during the period of Roman persecution prior to Constantine, all points to not only a plausible date in this period, but the most probable of the available options.

The Significance Why was this inscription carved into the rock wall, and why is the content of it significant? The cave itself may have been a meeting place for Christians during the period when persecution was common and Christianity was not a religion sanctioned by the Roman Empire. Although the cave may have some characteristics of a cistern—slightly underground, generally rounded, signs of standing water on the walls —there are numerous caves around the site which now become partially filled with water during periods of rain but have nothing to do with water storage. These include tombs, columbarium caves, and meeting places. This particular cave was not even filled with water during the early spring when many of the other subterranean installations, including a columbarium, were flooded. The site of Beth Loya has several subterranean installations used for a variety of purposes, and most are not cisterns. This particular subterranean installation also has a sloped stairway like entrance. It is not shaped like most cisterns of the

20 Tanner, Godfrey. “Greek Epigraphy in South Jordan,” Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Bd. 83 (1990): 183-193, pgs. 185-87; Sukenik, E.L. “The Earliest Records of Christianity,” American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 51, No. 4 (1947): 351-365, 358.

21 Millard, A.R. Reading and Writing in the Time of Jesus (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 2000) 70.

22 Tzaferis, Vassilios. “Inscribed ‘To God Jesus Christ,’” Biblical Archaeology Review 33:02 2007: 38-49.

23 Schwabe, Moshe and Lifshitz, Baruch. Beth She'arim. Vol. 2, The Greek Inscriptions (New Brunswick: Rutgers University, 1974) 125-127. period, and has carved theological inscriptions and symbols in the middle that appear nonsensical. Although it is possible that at one time the cave was used as some type of cistern and later modified, more likely it was used as a meeting place or even a residence. If the cave was a meeting place for early Christians that would explain why an inscription saying “Jesus is present,” next to a cross symbol, was carved into the wall. Those believers in Jesus as the Christ would want to communicate that Jesus, God, was present with them as they gathered and worshiped, even as modern Christians surround themselves with stained glass, artwork, inscriptions, icons, and symbols of the faith. The content of the inscription, however, is additionally significant because it demonstrates that the early church regarded Jesus as crucified on a cross, resurrected, and present with Christians, just as the writers of the New Testament taught. For Jesus, who was crucified, to be present at a gathering of Christians, He must have been resurrected and be alive (Matthew 28:7-9, Mark 16:6, Luke 24:46, John 20:9, Acts 1:3, 4:10, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). For Jesus to be present with Christians centuries after He came to earth, wherever they may be, He must be God who can be present anywhere and who promises to be present with Christians (Colossians 2:9, John 1:1, Matthew 18:20, Matthew 28:20, Acts 18:10). These theological points central to the teachings of the New Testament and Christianity are packed into an extremely short inscription that demonstrates a continuity of belief between the writings of the New Testament and early Christians in the Roman province of Syria Palaestina.

Titus Kennedy earned a B.A. from Biola University, M.A. from the University of Toronto in Near Eastern Archaeology, M.A. in Biblical Archaeology from the University of South Africa, and is pursuing a Doctorate in Biblical Archaeology at the University of South Africa. You may reach Titus at [email protected].